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hi all. Finally I have obtain my co2 system from fish store yesterday but I have read some article about co2 system can also kill ur fish if you dont have the right lightening. I have a 20 g planted tank with a 15 wt light tube install and since its in my living room I have 2x40wt light tube install on the shealin. I wonder if thats enought for releasing the co2 from tank.

my co2 system name:

CO2 Natural Plant System
Release the natural beauty of your planted aquarium!
From Nutrafin

Its design to fit a 20 g tank.

You actually have more than a lighting issue that you should cause concern when adding CO2 to your aquarium. The concerns are:
- Optimum plant conditions
- Optimum animal conditions
Optimum plant conditions include light, temperature, pH, hardness (KH) and nutrients. Tropica, http://www.tropica.com/default.asp, provides an excellent synopsis of the tolerable ranges of conditions for many aquarium plants. Regrettably, optimum plant conditions may not equate to optimum conditions for the fish that you have in your aquarium.
The potential dangers of adding CO2 to your aquarium are:
- Too little lighting to support plant growth
- Too few nutrients to support plant growth
- Radical swings in pH
Generally, low light is 05 to 1.5 watts per gallon (wpg) with medium lighting from above 1.5 watts to 2.5 wpg. Bright lighting is in excess of 3 wpg. As light intensifies, you may need to fertilize your plants to allow them to out compete algae for nutrients.
Unfortunately adding CO2 may rapidly decrease your pH. You can measure the current amount of your aquarium pH and KH then interpolating the data at this site: http://www.sfbaaps.com/reference/table_01.shtml.
For example, if your KH in degrees of German hardness is 2.0 degrees and your pH is 7.2 then you have 3.7 milligrams of CO2 per liter of water. If you force more CO2 into the water, your KH will remain the same but your pH will decline as CO2 absorption increases.
Rapid decreases in pH can be fatal to fish and plants!
You can minimize this danger by ensuring that you have enough buffer (KH) to prevent a pH crash. That is, ensure that your KH is high enough to provide minimal pH movement as you increase the CO2 in your aquarium!



Last edited by bob wesolowski at 18-Jun-2005 10:27

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I just tested after I did a water change like 3 hours ago.

here is the result:
KH = 5 DH
PH = 9 I dont know how those neon and cardinal tetras stay alive in this kind of ph. Aren't they suppose only can takes max 8 ph?



Last edited by IMCL85 at 18-Jun-2005 12:44

What's the range on yer pH test kit? Sometimes if the actual pH isn't in the range of the kit, it will give a really weird answer

I use TetraTest Laborett for testing ph/kh/gh/no2/co2/ammonia

The PH kit is from 5.0 - 10.0 but really tho I dont know why the ph is so high as I have throw in an wood to make water acid. How can it still be this high.

Tetra ph test is not very accurate. I bet it's somewhere around 8.4-8.6 instead of 9. My water with an aquarium pharm test measures at around 8.0 to a little above and looks like 9 on a tetra test which is why I stopped using it. Hardy fish will survive that ph but if your ph actually tests 9 on a more accurate kit I would suggest mixing 1 gallon of distilled water for every gallon of water from your faucet. That will lower the hardness and ph without creating ph swings.
For co2 to be beneficial you need around 2wpg or more. That's 40w on your 20g tank. Room lights do not count at all. Sunlight from a window may contribute slightly but I wouldn't count it unless the tank gets direct sunlight. If you add co2 with the light you currently have all you will get is alot of algae. Also when you do add co2 you need to already have quite a few fast growing plants in the tank or they won't use the co2 and you'll get algae.

i use tetra laborett as well..but my water pH is just up to 8...so..if its really inaccurate..then my water should be what my lfs told me...around 7.5...i use aqua pharm as well..but i dont have the pH with it..once i finished the tetra..ill switch..and yeah..i do find AP much better than TL but the paraphernalia of AP sux!!!

petmsart sells AP for just cad 27...the cheapest ive seen.

If you are on a municipal water system, your test results for pH may be skewed by your recent water change. Your tap water pH will rise as you heat and aerate the water as the water degasses. Test the water for a truer reading before you do a water change.

Since your fish are alive, they have either adapted to the pH or the pH is wrong. I recommend taking a water sample to your local fish store (lfs) and ask them to test it. If the readings are markedly different from your readings, buy a new test kit.

If your KH reading is 5, it will provide a very good buffer for adding CO2. Your pH will come down but not dramatically with the Nutrafin system.

Last edited by bob wesolowski at 19-Jun-2005 10:22

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

ok just took some to the fish store and the result is 7.5ph.